Inexplicable
by amerally
Summary: Derek and Karen are inexplicably drawn to one another. What are they going to do about it?
1. Chapter 1

Derek Wills preferred his Scotch neat, his steaks rare, and his women a little dangerous.

That's why, for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why he was so drawn to Karen Cartwright.

She was everything that was against his type. Uncomplicated, unpretentious, unjaded. She was what he would actually call _stable_. And although it pained him to entertain the idea, there even was – for god's sake – an _innocence_ about her.

Regardless, Derek found his thoughts constantly drifting to her. He had had bloody _visions_ of her, for fuck's sake. Troubling, overwhelming visions of her as Marilyn – _his_ Marilyn. Through them, Derek had come to realize that Karen Cartwright was The One for the starring role in his production.

And he had been right. Of course, he knew that he would be, but Derek was accustomed to selecting his stars through methods that didn't involve _visions_, of all things. Quite the contrary, he was used to being rational and objective while making decisions in his work.

Derek was also used to being rational and objective when it came to women.

He never came on to a woman or accepted her advances without a logical reason. He certainly never did it based only on a _feeling_. It was always based on whether or not he needed stress relief; or whether at that moment in time he was turned on or amused by her enough and it was convenient; or whether such a dalliance could further his professional objectives.

Derek certainly had never known the experience of actually falling for a woman, not only without a rational reason but _in spite_ of one.

Until now.

* * *

Karen Cartwright might have been "green" in almost every way, but she wasn't stupid.

She learned quickly, and although the backstabbing, cynical ways of show business sometimes took her breath away, it wasn't long before she understood the basic lay of the land. Plus, she wasn't as naïve as everyone assumed her to be: The dark side of human nature reared its ugly head in Iowa every once in a while, too, you know.

It's just that, as a general rule, the wickedest faces of human nature had to slink around in the dark back home. Here, these faces strutted about in the clear light of day – and were often even celebrated.

And nobody wore this face so perfectly well, in Karen's estimation, than Derek Wills.

It wasn't that Derek was so openly demanding and rude and arrogant. His genius talent had earned him the privilege of being these nasty things and more in the arts world. After all, his my-way-or-the-highway-you-sodding-mother-fuckers approach had yielded success after success.

But Karen thought it horribly wrong that he would take this approach from the stage and apply it to his personal life. And in Karen's opinion, inviting an auditionee to his home after hours because he "needs to see everything she's got" and regularly screwing his actresses – his _employees_ – unquestionably crossed the line.

That's why, for the life of her, Karen couldn't figure out why she was so drawn to Derek.

She should have been repelled from him, disgusted by the very thought of him.

Instead, she was drawn to him. And it went far beyond the flutter of attraction to his handsome face or his deep, sexy voice. Every time he spoke to her – and he actually did speak to her sometimes instead of just yell – she was rendered breathless and speechless. Every time he touched her – and he seemed to find plenty of opportunities to do so – she was overwhelmed.

There was no denying that Derek had some kind of mysterious power over her.

It puzzled Karen. But more than it puzzled her, it scared her.


	2. Chapter 2

"And I do understand love."

That had been a lie.

Derek didn't understand the first thing about love, and he bloody well knew it. He simply told Karen what he thought she needed to hear to bring down the house that night. He wanted her to feel like she wasn't alone. That she had full understanding and support – an ally – at her side. He knew those were the kinds of sentiments that empowered this girl.

And, precisely like he knew it would, it had worked.

But just because Derek didn't understand love, it didn't mean he couldn't feel it. And he was feeling it. At least, that's what he _thought_ he might be feeling for Karen. He had never before felt something toward a woman that was so powerful and so irrational.

Of course, the physical attraction to Karen was a no-brainer. Any man with even an ounce of testosterone in his bloodstream would find her hot. It had been instantaneous for Derek, with her sexy audition performance of "Beautiful" and then her sexier private performance of "Happy Birthday."

And when she straddled him wearing only his shirt and moved in for the kiss that smoothly swerved into flat-out rejection, her sex quotient blew off the charts. Her scared little bird routine had shrewdly and unpredictably turned into a power play.

Derek had loved it.

She wasn't going to get the lead, but she had gotten his attention. And he wanted to make sure that he kept this girl around. Kept an eye on her. Kept her within reach.

But then, once they got in the rehearsal studio, the Karen he'd met – the sexy, sly, unpredictable Karen – seemed to disappear. What was left in her place was a meek, bland, hesitant little bird.

That annoyed him. And there was nothing that irritated Derek more than a brilliant talent who stifled her talent. So it was easy and natural for him to shout at Karen in rehearsals. It was satisfying to cruelly use her to motivate Ivy. He relished each opportunity to literally put his hands on Karen and force her to move like he wanted her to move.

Derek didn't have the time to coax out the brilliance he'd seen in the girl, so he hoped that as the production moved along, he could command it out of her.

And, as always with his professional instincts, it worked.

In fact, it almost worked too well. It not only pushed her out of her shell, it also pushed him over the edge.

It got to the point that Karen had had enough of Derek's domineering, commanding treatment, and she committed a cardinal showbiz sin: She openly back talked the director in rehearsal. That fiery spirit triggered a vision of her as a brilliant Marilyn that sent Derek reeling.

It was then that he knew she was his Marilyn. And it was then that he began to know he was falling for Karen.

* * *

"And I do understand love."

_What was _THAT _all about?_ Karen now wondered.

After Derek muttered this in her ear and she then strode out on stage and sung out her soul, Karen had braced herself.

The writing was on the wall: soft words about love, hot breath on her neck, firm hands on her hips, thumbs moving lightly along her waist. There was no doubt that Derek was – predictably – making moves on his new leading lady. And Karen wasn't sure how she was going to deal with it.

For one thing, her wounds from Dev hadn't even closed yet, much less healed. And besides that, Derek was such a predator. Ivy then Rebecca and now _her?_ He was her _boss,_ for crying out loud. Plus, Karen didn't do casual sex – she just didn't. She wanted to be in some kind of a dating relationship before she gave herself to a guy in that way.

But it all circled back to the undeniable fact that Karen was drawn to Derek. In fact, it was surprising how quickly Dev was fading into a blur in her memory. So would she cave to Derek's advances and go against her better judgment, or would she resist him and risk eventually getting fired?

As it turned out, though, there was nothing for her to worry about. Derek not only didn't make a pass at her, he was more distant than ever after her debut. In fact, he had never been so cold and harsh with her before. And that was saying something.

Karen was astounded. The show previews in Boston had been smashing successes. Everyone – even Derek – assured her that she was indeed a star. So why was he acting this way?

The only thing working in her favor was the fact that she was no longer terrified of Derek. His shouts, his growls, his glares – now she could pretty much take it. That's not to say that she liked his treatment – or didn't care about it – but it no longer shook her to her core. At least now she could somewhat shake it off and focus on her work.

They had returned to New York for a while before heading back out on the road, and every day Derek gave her a seriously hard time in rehearsals. Before Boston, when Karen was still stumbling, it had been understandable. But even now that she was nailing the songs, the lines, the steps, the moves, nothing was ever good enough for him.

She appreciated his perfectionism and how it steered her performance, but why in the world was he being so horribly mean about it?

Everyone was noticing.

"The Dark Lord definitely has it out for our Marilyn," Jessica muttered after an irritable and very loud Derek gave them ten. "But then he creeps on her. Have you seen how he stares? What's up with that?"

"He wants to tap that – that's what's up with that," Bobby snickered as he poked a finger toward Karen. "Or has he _already_ tapped that?"

"Shut up," Karen was annoyed, not only by her friends, but also by the conflicting emotions that were constantly stirred up inside her. When she wasn't angry, she was hurt. And when she wasn't hurt, she was angry.

Derek was broadcasting such mixed signals. She regularly caught him staring at her. Not glaring – _staring_ in a seemingly mesmerized way, with an actual softness to his eyes. But then his eyes would grow hard again, and he'd turn right back around and treat her with open contempt.

Karen was angry and hurt that he was being so terrible. But even more so, Karen was angry and hurt that he hadn't made the moves on her – and then she was angry with herself that she was angry and hurt about it.

God, she couldn't win.


	3. Chapter 3

It was plain and simple, really. Derek didn't understand his irrational pull to Karen, and it annoyed him.

The physical attraction he completely understood. The emotional attraction he didn't understand in the least.

He didn't _do _emotional with women, much less one who he regarded as so inexperienced. God, Karen Cartwright was so wide eyed and – there was that word again – _innocent_.

Derek had always viewed this kind of wide-eyed innocence as amusing at best, annoying and boring at worst. How could an innocent be the least bit interesting?

So the fact that this wide-eyed innocent creature had so captivated him really irritated Derek. He was aggravated with himself for allowing it to happen. And, to make matters much worse, he knew he was making a fool of himself.

There had always been a low-level tension between Karen and him. Even back in early production, he had nearly come out of his skin whenever he held her close to run through choreography. But he'd always been able to keep his cool. Now, since he'd had those bloody visions of her, that tension had ratcheted up to what resulted in awkward fumblings on his part.

_Karen Cartwright and those bloody visions_ … For a while, they had reduced him to a literal mess in the pre-Rebecca rehearsals. He operated by quietly muttering – _stuttering_ – directions to Karen; musing distractedly in the middle of sets; subjecting the cast and crew to prolonged silences while he got his shit together because he'd lost his place yet again. It was all very un-Dark-Lord-like behavior.

And then there was the staring. _That _was something that continued to this day.

Derek just couldn't help himself. Each time Karen caught him doing it, he irritably course corrected – until he did it again straightaway.

She was just so beautiful. It wasn't only her flawless skin; her dark, silken locks; her gorgeous face and perfect figure. Derek found himself noticing her easy way. Her natural grace, her genuine empathy, her open soul.

Everyone eased in her presence. And with that ease came better performances from everyone. This was something that, naturally, as a director he appreciated.

But what was even more attractive to Derek now was the sharper edge that Karen had developed as of late. It started to form just after her preview debut, and Derek suspected it was the result of that little mess between her, Ivy and that tosser. Now Karen wasn't so wide-eyed; now Karen showed laser-like focus on her performance; now Karen didn't crumple under his severity in rehearsals.

This newly formed edge had made her more complex, and Derek found that he reveled in the fact that there were layers of her to be explored. He tried to tell himself, at first anyway, that his interest was only in exploiting those layers for the production. But he bloody well knew that wasn't the case.

And now that Karen wasn't as frightened of him anymore and had begun to build her confidence with smashing preview upon smashing preview, her pull was even more powerful.

Derek didn't just want to get her in bed. He wanted to inhale her essence. To possess her soul.

And as a devil, he was nothing short of driven mad by his adoration for this angel.

"_No,_ _no, NO!_"

Derek was shouting again, taking out his frustrations on said angel, who had just made another slight misstep.

"Miss Cartwright, we need to go over that again … and possibly _again._ You stay put and we'll drill further," Derek growled. "The rest of you, I'll see bright and early Monday morning."

The studio was suddenly filled with commotion as everyone evacuated it as fast as they could. Nobody wanted to hang around to see what happened next.


	4. Chapter 4

Once they were finally alone and silence reigned in the studio, Derek sat down at the table and motioned for Karen to step back out onto the practice floor. Purposefully looking at his notes instead of her, he muttered, "Let's see if we can finally nail this down, shall we?"

Karen silently strode out onto the floor and began the routine. Derek noticed that her expression was impassive, a sign that he had learned meant she was in deep concentration.

Only a few moments passed before Derek called her to a halt with a shout.

"Bloody hell!" he bellowed. "Why can't you get this right?"

Karen just stood there, stock still, looking at him. Her expression was no longer impassive – now it was one of slight frustration. Perhaps there was even the faint dawning of anger in those big brown eyes of hers.

Derek didn't care.

"How can you _possibly_ be so gormless?" his voice was way too loud for the nearly empty room. "You have had _unbelievable_ difficulty with this particular section from the very fucking dawn of time! What is it going to take to get my direction through that bloody thick skull of yours?"

He leapt to his feet and strode over to her. Standing behind her, he placed his hands on her waist and less than gently moved her into position.

Derek tried to ignore the feel of Karen's warm curves under his hands, as well as the delicately sweet scent of her cascading hair. Her close presence was suddenly making it very difficult for him to concentrate, and Derek Wills Wanted. No. Distractions.

All he wanted was to bloody get through this and bloody get out of here. He could really use a drink round about now. _Was that too much to ask?_ The room suddenly felt as if it were closing in all around him, constricting him and making it hard to breathe.

_For Christ's sake! I'm getting out of control!_ Derek was actually glowering into the back of Karen's head … _God, that gloriously silken hair_ … in his attempt to get ahold of himself. There was nothing Derek Wills detested more than something he ruled over – especially himself – slipping out of his control.

Derek's overwhelming discomfort did nothing but intensify his testiness, which in turn caused his grip on Karen's waist to tighten.

"Derek, please – please – _stop_," Karen exclaimed, slightly twisting and struggling in his hold. "You're hurting me!"

He immediately released her, taking a step back and actually holding his hands out in a gesture of concession.

"I'm – I'm sorry," he quickly spoke, his anger evaporating and leaving him feeling as if the wind had been knocked out of him. "I didn't mean to …"

Derek's voice trailed off as he suddenly realized that tears were streaming down Karen's face.

He blinked. _What –?_ Surely he hadn't hurt her _that_ badly.

Now bewildered, he hesitantly moved toward her out of an instinct to comfort. But she in turn instinctively moved out of his reach.

"I'm sorry, Karen," he spoke softly as he took another step toward her. "I truly didn't mean to hurt you—"

"That's _all _you do!" she suddenly shouted, glaring at him through her tears. "All you do is hurt me! Day after day after day!"

Derek was stunned by Karen's outburst. He simply stood there, motionless and speechless as she continued her tirade.

"_Nothing_ I do is ever good enough for you! And you're so _hateful _about it! Talk about '_from the very fucking dawn of time_' – that's how long you've been so horrible to me! And I just don't understand!" she cried. "_Why?_ _Why are you treating me this way?_"

Derek's reaction was instantaneous. Without a thought, in two quick strides Derek was directly before her and reaching toward her arm. Karen's reaction was also instantaneous – and it was also without a thought – and it was a direct result of instinct and confusion and overwrought emotion.

She slapped him across the face.

Immediately, Karen was horrified. Now frozen, her still-streaming eyes were wide and her hands were at her gaping mouth. _Oh, God …_ _What had she done?_

It had been a hard blow. Derek's head jerked to the right at her strike, and he almost stumbled. His hand instantly went to his cheek as he took a step backward, looking at her in absolute astonishment.

For what seemed like an eternity, the two stared at each other in mutual shock.

* * *

_Thanks for all of the reviews, follows, favorites and PMs! I appreciate it so much that you're reading and giving me feedback. And _**iconicxbeauty**_, wherever you are, thanks for giving my story a plug on your tumblr! I flipped out when I was lurking on tumblr for all things Smash and ran across your entry._ :D


	5. Chapter 5

_**Previously on: It had been a hard blow. Derek's head jerked to the right at her strike, and he almost stumbled. His hand instantly went to his cheek as he took a step backward, looking at her in absolute astonishment.**_

_**For what seemed like an eternity, the two stared at each other in mutual shock.**_

* * *

For what seemed like an eternity, the two stared at each other in mutual shock.

But then, in one swift motion, Derek strode forward and swept Karen into a tight embrace, smothering her mouth in a forceful kiss.

He felt her resist for only a moment. After she quickly recovered from the surprise of it all, she melted in his arms, wrapping her own arms around his neck and pulling him as tightly to herself as he was holding her.

Their kiss was hungry. No – it was starving. They desperately embraced in a kind of powerful release, a release of tension that felt like it had been building since … well, since what seemed to be the very fucking dawn of time. They couldn't seem to kiss each other's lips or hold each other close enough.

They both lost themselves in the sweet, warm sensations of one another, kissing and tasting and mouthing, their hands running through each other's hair, gripping and pulling and feeling. There were no thoughts – only physical expression that swept them both into a timeless, placeless vortex.

When they finally broke their kiss, they were both dazed and breathless. Wordlessly, they slowly released their grasp on one another and moved apart. Karen took an unsteady step back, and they simply stood there, staring at each other – their eyes filled with intensity, with … disbelief.

It was then that the door to the studio opened slightly and Eileen's head poked inside the room.

"Derek?" she spoke, startling them both out of their daze. "Derek, may I have a word? I need to touch base with you on tomorrow night's investors' event."

"Of – of course," he replied, tearing his eyes from Karen and managing to glance back at Eileen. "I'll be there in a moment."

Eileen took one look at Karen's tear-stained face. It wasn't the first time she'd seen a girl crying under Derek Wills' command.

"Is everything OK here?" Eileen didn't want to interfere in Derek's creative process, but _honestly_.

"Yes. Fine," Derek spoke, and Karen gave a slight nod, her gaze trained on the floor.

"All right," Eileen's voice was tinged with doubt. Her eyes lingered on the bright pink mark across Derek's cheek before she turned to leave. "Mmm. Well, I don't have all night, Derek."

Silence reigned in the studio once again. A beat passed before Derek spoke.

"Listen, … I … I need to go talk with Eileen," he said rather pointlessly. He had turned back to Karen and faintly cocked his head, peering gently into her eyes. His voice was soft, a little uneven, as he continued, "Are you … OK?"

Karen could only manage another nod.

Then she choked out, "Are – are _you?_"

"Yes, Darling," Derek's fingers automatically went to his face, where they lightly brushed across her fading handprint. His slight smile was warm and reassuring, perhaps a bit sheepish. "I'm fine."

His voice was still soft; Karen thought she could feel it caressing her. She was unsettled by the unfamiliarity of a gentle Derek.

There was another intense pause before he spoke again, "I do need to go. … Can you wait til I'm finished?"

"No – no, I need to go, too," Karen quickly replied, glancing away from him and feeling more than a little awkward. "I have to be somewhere."

"All right, then.…," he seemed to now be feeling a bit awkward as well, a slight furrow in his brow. "See you Monday."

"See you Monday."


	6. Chapter 6

Derek paused outside Eileen's office for a moment to … adjust himself.

_What am I? Fifteen? _he chided himself with an audible sigh.

Just to be on the safe side, Derek jammed his hands in his pants pockets as he entered Eileen's office.

As he walked in the door, Eileen looked at him from the other side of her desk, dourly peering over her reading glasses. Derek was well acquainted with this look and, God, he _really_ wasn't in the mood for what he knew was coming.

Eileen didn't say anything, merely gestured to the empty chair in front of her desk.

_Oh, for fuck's sake, I'm not a schoolboy_. But Derek took care to remember himself and not roll his eyes as he took the proffered seat.

"Do you recall when Rebecca was still onboard and I threatened to strangle you if anything backfired?" Eileen didn't wait for a response to what was obviously a rhetorical question. "Well, I want you to know that my threat still stands."

"What are you going on about?"

"Don't you give me that," Eileen leaned forward in her intense retort. Derek mused that she looked like she could probably literally spit acid. "What the hell was going on in there?"

When Derek opened his mouth to answer, Eileen held up her hand. "Never mind," she growled. "I don't want to know. But what I _do_ know is that you'd better not do anything to screw up our star – with '_screw_' being the operative word here. Do you understand me? You had better not mess her up or scare her off or create another Ivy-like disaster—"

"Darling," Derek knew he needed to defuse this, and quickly. "I haven't done _anything_ with the Cartwright girl—"

"Derek, I shouldn't have to point out that your little 'Cartwright girl' routine has _never_ been convincing, much less at this stage in the game. Her name is '_Karen,' _and I think you're more than fully aware that our shapely, sultry star is _anything_ but a _girl_—"

"Christ, Eileen!"

Frankly, Eileen was surprised that it had taken this long for an outburst from her notoriously temperamental director … which served to further confirm her suspicions.

"She's been brilliant, hasn't she?" Derek was now in full defensive mode, including raised voice and severe scowl. "Nothing but brilliant all through the previews, and may I remind you that if it hadn't been for _me _and how_ I've _dealt with her, that brilliance would never have seen the spotlight?" Derek shifted agitatedly in the chair. "Back there, we – we were just – she's had difficulties with this one particular section, and we were just drilling—" _Poor word choice there, Mate_, Derek course corrected: "Just _practicing_ that segment, and she got a bit frustrated—"

"It looked to me like somebody got slapped," Eileen mildly interjected, peering intently at him over her glasses. "Is that what Karen does when she's 'a bit frustrated'? Slaps the shit out of you?"

"We had a simple _misunderstanding_—"

"You didn't come on to her?"

"Well … not exactly—"

" '_Not exactly' ?_" Eileen interjected again, this time not so mildly. "Derek, for god's sake, can't you just keep it in your pants _for once?_"

"All _right!_ I've heard enough!" Derek leapt up from the chair and headed for the door. "You'll get your smash hit, and you don't have to mess about in my personal business to get it!"

"Your shenanigans are_ my_ business when they interfere with _my business!_" Eileen shouted at his rigid back as it stalked out of her office. "And don't forget the investor thing tomorrow night! Black tie!"

* * *

Fuming, Derek strode into the rehearsal studio to grab his coat and messenger bag.

She wasn't there.

In the back of his mind, he had been hoping that Karen would reconsider and wait for him after all. But, no.

Derek irritably shrugged on his coat, and it billowed around him as he brusquely scooped up his messenger bag and left the room.

His fist pounded the call button only once, and the lift doors opened immediately. When he was inside, slouching against a wall of the temporarily private little space, he was able to begin fully pondering the situation.

And he didn't like the direction his pondering was taking.

This situation had him uncharacteristically flustered and … good God, he was actually beginning to feel twinges of regret. The feelings were only vaguely familiar because, frankly, Derek Wills rarely regretted anything he did, but this … _Maybe Eileen is right_.

The thought infuriated Derek, but with his compounding feelings of regret, he couldn't help but acknowledge that perhaps his friend had a point.

But what was truly driving his regret was the troublesome fact that Karen hadn't waited for him.

Christ, he had nearly consumed her in his passion. He thought he felt the same passion being returned in full, but … well, she couldn't seem to get away from him quickly enough afterward, could she? Making that lame excuse … and then, that look in her eyes – she was obviously confused by it all.

_Oh, God_. _Confused_. All the show needed was a more confused Karen Cartwright.

He'd been stupidly swept up in the moment. That slap – her fierceness – had suddenly unleashed something inside of him. He had let himself be driven by it, blindly throwing all good sense and reason aside. This simply wasn't the way he operated and, bloody hell, _he_ was even confused by it all.

It only took until he was hailing a taxi outside the building for him to make his decision.

He couldn't do this. He simply couldn't.

With _Bombshell_ teetering on the very edge of making it to Broadway, there was too much at stake for him to go confusing Karen out of her brilliant performance. He _knew_ better than to do this. If there was anything that Derek Wills always knew, it was what his stars needed, and this … situation … was the last thing that this particular star needed.

He had obviously forced the situation, and he was going to have to drop it. He had to pull himself together.

He had to forget about Karen Cartwright.


	7. Chapter 7

Forget about Karen Cartwright? Yeah, right. How the hell was he going to do _that?_

Well, for the moment at least, Derek knew the perfect diversion.

As he was riding in the back of the cab, he rummaged through his messenger bag for his mobile phone. Quickly finding the contact, he placed a call.

"It's Derek," he simply said.

"Well, hey, Baby."

"Meet you at the Warwick?"

"Dinner tonight?"

"No. I just need some relief therapy, Darling."

"All right. See you soon."

After he rang off, Derek leaned forward to give the cabbie his change in plan: the address of the hotel.

* * *

It was such a cliché, really. Sharing a cigarette with your lover afterwards, while still lounging in the hotel bed afterglow.

Only, she wasn't his lover, and he had quit smoking years ago.

The woman and the cigarette were both just occasional indulgences – only when necessary. _And, God, they had both been necessary tonight._

Derek was grateful for the escort service. He reveled from time to time in the high-class indulgence it offered: shagging a beautiful woman without having to jump through any hoops – no chatting her up, no wining and dining, no goddamn emotional entanglements.

A couple of years ago, he had been introduced to this one particular call girl – a tall, brunette beauty – who he found he especially got on with. She was interesting enough to share dinner with before or after, whenever he had the time and was in the mood to do so. And she was a true professional about it when all he wanted was to get off.

She seemed to be able to read him well, something else he really appreciated. No need to use _so many words_…

Ironically, he was now jarred from his reverie by her words.

"So who's Karen?"

She had never seen Derek Wills startled before. Those handsome eyes wide, that sexy mouth slightly agape.

"What?"

"You heard me," she replied with a languid, knowing smile. "Who is she?"

"What?" he stupidly repeated.

"You said her name when you came, Baby," she was now grinning. "Come on, you can tell me. Who is Karen?"

"She's nobody," Derek replied as off-handedly as he could manage.

_God_, he groaned inwardly as he laid back and dragged deeply on the cigarette. _How I wish she were nobody_.


	8. Chapter 8

"So what happened?"

"Spill it, Sistah!"

Karen _knew_ she shouldn't have come here. The ensemble could be so obnoxious and all up in her business.

Tonight of all nights, she should've stayed away from their usual Friday hangout. But Karen was determined not to let her new star status put a wedge between her and her friends, and she wasn't going to let … whatever was going on between her and Derek keep her away from her friends tonight. Plus, with today's latest developments, she really needed a distraction. And the ensemble was always good for that.

So Karen rallied her professional acting skills and gave them a dazzling smile.

"Absolutely _nothing _happened, you nosey bitches," she even managed a slight giggle. "Nothing except more yelling and insults."

"Anything new and improved?" Bobby smirked.

"Oh, let's see," Karen frowned and touched a finger to her chin in a mock thoughtful pose. "He said I was 'gormless.' Does anybody know what _that _means?"

"That means 'clueless'!" Jessica enthusiastically shouted out like she was a contestant in a game show. "My short stint in the West End was at least good for my British slang skills."

"_Mad _skills," Bobby grinned through his sarcasm.

"Shut up!" Jessica squealed, playfully shoving him against the bar.

And just like that, the attention was off Karen, and they were all back to their typical hubbub of joking and chattering and seeing who could drink the most without worrying about the calories.

But no matter how focused she tried to stay in the noisy conversations or how much she drank to get a nice buzz going, Karen couldn't quit thinking about Derek.

And what had happened.

_Well, I finally got my wish_, she scolded herself.

Her twisted little wish that her boss would make a pass at her.

_And what a pass it had been_. She had _never_, in all her _life_, been kissed like that before. When she'd finally come back down to Earth, she was afraid for a second there that her wobbly knees were literally going to give out on her.

Instead, she'd taken off at the first opportunity. She had to get away from him so she could think straight. Or at least _try_ to think straight. What she was doing here in the bar wasn't exactly thinking straight, but it was the best she could do in all the confusion.

_Confusion._

Confusion had become a familiar friend in this new life she was forging for herself in the Big Apple. And it had just become her best friend this afternoon while she was in the arms of Derek Wills.

_Confusion will probably be my BFF if I end up with HIM_, she groaned inwardly. Surely, it would be nothing but complicated and bewildering and difficult. How could it be anything else? Oh, God, was it worth all of that?

Karen was back to her original predicament: What was she going to do about it? Was she going to cave and go against her better judgment? Or should she resist – was it possible for her to go back to work on Monday and just pretend like nothing had happened?

Karen literally flushed as she remembered how she felt when Derek grabbed her and held her so close. And his hot, hungry mouth on hers, his long, slender fingers stroking her hair … the magnetic attraction she'd always had toward him made perfect sense. He was so—

_Karen! Get ahold of yourself! That man is nothing but bad news, and you know it!_

But then she immediately relived the euphoric thrill that had surged through her in his embrace. His warmth, his scent was so intoxicating—

_God, I am so stupid and so weak.…_

"Karen! Helloooo!" She suddenly realized that Dennis was snapping his fingers in front of her face. "How many drinks have you _had?_ You're like spaced out or something."

"Oh, sorry," she mumbled. "I was just … thinking."

"What about?"

"Oh, you know … the show."

"Oh, Girl," Dennis chuckled. "You've got to learn how to keep work at work. Bringing it home with you every night is gonna drive you crazy."

Karen couldn't help but weakly smirk before she took an especially long swig of beer.

_Tell me about it_.


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks so much for continuing to read, everybody! I really appreciate all of your encouraging reviews, comments and PMs. In other news, I've just opened a Twitter account: ["at symbol"]**amerally1**. Please follow if you're interested, and I'll follow you back!

* * *

CHAPTER 9

"Let's take it from the top again – OK, Karen?"

Tom was being his eternally patient self, and Karen was eternally grateful to him for it.

She had barely slept a wink after leaving the bar last night, and beneath her grogginess was a low-grade pounding headache that wouldn't go away. Three aspirins and copious amounts of water just hadn't done the usual trick. _God, she was going to have to quit drinking so much_.

Karen had agreed to meet with Tom on Saturday morning to go over some revisions he'd made to a couple of songs. They thought it would be a good idea to get a head start on mastering these changes before Monday's rehearsal, so here they were in Tom's apartment, Tom at the piano and Karen standing nearby in front of a music stand.

When Karen flubbed yet again, Tom calmly removed his hands from the piano keys and sat back to look at her.

"Is everything all right, Sweetie?"

"I'm so sorry," Karen apologized effusively, practically hiding her face as she nervously ran a hand through her hair. "I'm just … tired … and … and I'm having trouble concentrating this morning."

Suddenly, Tom's hands were back on the piano keys, his fingers dancing out a lively little tune as he warbled mockingly:

"_She says she's tired;_

_She says she's bleary._

_Too much gin last night_

_is my theoryyyyyyy_…."

"Now we know why _Julia_ is the lyricist around here," Karen retorted through a giggle.

Tom laughed and gave Karen his signature brilliant smile as he stood up from the piano stool. "Here," he gestured to the sofa. "Let's take a little break."

"OK, thanks."

As Karen comfortably settled among the sofa's plush cushions, Tom handed her the cup of tea he had made her when she'd first arrived. He eyed her playfully as he drank from his own cup.

"So what's up with you?"

"Oh, nothing, really," Karen avoided his eye contact as she sipped her tea. "You're right. I'm just, you know, hungover and everything."

"That's not like you," Tom's teasing tone didn't quite cover his concern as he set his cup and saucer on the end table. "You're usually a dynamo, regardless of how much you party with that gaggle of troublemakers."

"Oh, the ensemble isn't that bad."

"Oh, yes they are," Tom gave her a knowing smirk and a wink. "But seriously, there's something more to it, isn't there?"

Karen sighed. She felt so relaxed around Tom – almost everybody did, really. He just had a natural quality of kindness to his personality that put people at ease. And regardless of his close friendship with Ivy, Karen felt that Tom genuinely liked her, too. She felt safe with him – felt that he really cared.

"I have a lot on my mind," Karen admitted. "And it's … complicated. Way complicated."

"Well, that sounds like guy trouble to me," Tom remarked in an understanding tone. "There's nothing like that to complicate things and interfere with your focus. Believe me, I know." He gave her a sympathetic smile. "Still hurting over Dev?"

"Actually … no," Karen replied, gazing distractedly across the room. "Actually, I haven't given Dev a serious thought in … quite a while now. Ever since Boston, to be honest."

Tom's expression showed his surprise. "Really? Then what _is_ going on with you, Honey?"

"Oh, I think I'm just confused," It was obvious that Karen suddenly didn't really want to talk about it anymore, as she now sheepishly trained her eyes in her teacup, which she cradled in front of her with both hands.

"Confused?" Tom echoed. Now his mind was in overdrive, trying to figure out what her deal was. He didn't know Karen well enough yet to push her to spill, so he had to be careful about this.

_Let's see_…. She doesn't deny that it's guy trouble, but it isn't Dev – and she wouldn't have any reason to lie about that. She doesn't have much time to spend with anyone outside the production, and almost all of the ensemble guys are gay—

_Oh. My. God_.

It suddenly occurred to Tom what might be going on. And as his mind instantly replayed the end of yesterday's rehearsal, he revised his thought to what was _probably_ going on.

All he could hear was Derek's booming voice in that goddamned haughty accent of his commanding Karen to stay behind so they could "drill further" … alone.

Tom couldn't fucking believe it.

_Not again_.

"Sweetie," Tom spoke tentatively, trying his utmost to keep his voice even and not betray his growing sense of outrage. "Derek's not making you … uncomfortable, is he?"

The sudden, bright flush in Karen's face was all Tom needed as confirmation. She had been careful not to look at him, but it was obvious that she was fighting every instinct not to gape at him in surprise.

"Of course not," Karen now mustered her acting skills to laugh away Tom's question. "Derek's been nothing but a true professional."

Tom gave Karen a little smile.

_True professional, my ass._


	10. Chapter 10

"Are you fucking her?"

"Pardon?"

"You heard me. Are. You. Fucking. Her."

Tom was doing what Derek had always termed the "bloated toad" – an expression of righteous indignation that overemphasized the slight natural bulge in Tom's eyes.

_Someone should inform the bloke that it's not a good look for him_, Derek mused, but he decided against provoking his colleague any further. Immediately, anyway.

Saturday night's investors' black-tie dinner had concluded, and the walking bags of money had departed. Tom now had Derek trapped in the hotel's swanky restroom. He stood with his back against the door, arms folded across his chest as he waited for Derek's response.

Derek glanced at Tom in the mirror as he stood at the sink drying his hands.

"Mind your own fucking business, Tom. And the 'fucking' is intended both figuratively and literally," Derek replied as he casually tossed the paper towel in a nearby trashcan.

"Funny thing is," Tom's voice quavered slightly in his outrage, "I actually _am_ minding my own business here."

"You and Eileen need to break up your chatty little hen party," Derek emphasized his sneer with an eye roll. As he now turned and fully faced Tom, Derek practically oozed with annoyance.

"Actually, Eileen and I haven't said one word to each other about this," Tom replied matter of factly. "I've been talking to _Karen_."

"What?"

Catching Derek off guard gave Tom a warm tingle of satisfaction. He could see that there was at least one thing that Derek and Karen had in common: the inability to keep a poker face when Tom snooped for confirmation. Tom was almost giddy over the startled look that now replaced the annoyed one beneath The Reptile's close-cropped scruff.

"What is it with your dick and its attraction to insecure divas?" Tom now taunted his former friend. "Can't it find a woman to 'shag' who is self-confident and isn't your _employee?_"

Before Derek could collect himself enough to respond, Tom continued, "Ivy obviously should have known better, but Karen? Really? She's a _kid_, Derek. Bagging her is like shooting fish in a barrel—"

"You really shouldn't mix your metaphors," Derek finally jumped in. "Words aren't your strong suit, so just stick to the nice little tunes, will you?"

"You're going to _ruin_ the production, Derek," Tom pronounced, completely ignoring the insults.

"What the hell are you going on about?"

"It's happening already," Tom fervently plowed on. "Karen is clearly messed up. She couldn't even concentrate well enough this morning to _sing_, for pete's sake."

Much to Tom's surprise, there wasn't a retort from Derek. He just stood there looking at Tom. And it wasn't a glare or an expression of contempt or any other kind of nasty look that Tom would have expected from him. And although Derek was looking right at him, he seemed to be looking through him. His expression was distant – as if he was distracted by his own thoughts.

So Tom now took the open opportunity to make the demand he'd come here to make: "Leave. Her. Alone."

After another uncharacteristic pause, Derek snapped out of his silence.

"Contrary to popular belief, I _am_ capable of proper judgment in such matters," Derek muttered testily as he made a move toward the door, which Tom was still blocking. "Now, if you'll excuse me—"

Tom didn't step aside quickly enough, so Derek grasped his upper arm to pull him from the door. Interpreting this as an aggressive maneuver, Tom responded by angrily shoving Derek away.

Before he realized what was happening, Derek was suddenly lying on his back on the floor. He had stepped backward from Tom's shove and slipped on a wet patch between the door and the sink.

He was stunned for only a moment. Then, as the pain and fury began coursing through him, Derek was of the immediate mind to leap up and give Tom a sound thrashing.

It was something that would be easy enough for him to carry out against the slighter man. And nothing else could possibly please him more than to give the bloated toad wanker a good pummeling. Derek had been keen to do precisely that ever since the little confrontation they'd had when he'd tried to course correct the show. The rubbish that tosser had dared to throw in his face…

But thinking better of it, Derek clenched his fists as he consciously held himself back, and he simply glared up at Tom from his position on the floor.

"Are you quite finished?" Derek growled.

It was humiliating enough to be sprawled at Tom's feet on a bathroom floor in full tuxedo. But what truly humiliated Derek was the fact that he couldn't deny that Tom was right about the whole bloody mess with Karen Cartwright.

Ignoring Tom's proffered hand to help him up from the floor, Derek gingerly stood up, brushed himself off, straightened his suit coat and silently strode out the door.


	11. Chapter 11

It was déjà vu.

Here she was, standing at Derek's door at 10 o'clock at night – again. Only, this time, she hadn't been invited.

It was Saturday night. The entire day had just been a continuation of the roller-coaster ride of indecision that had started Friday afternoon and careened on into today.

Emotionally, Karen had been all over the place. She didn't know what to think. She didn't know what she felt. She was confused and overwhelmed.

And to make it all worse, this thing with Derek had isolated her. Never before had she faced such a dilemma without somebody to lean on for advice or at least to listen to her think things through.

She couldn't talk to her friends back home about it – they totally wouldn't get it. And her parents were completely out of the question. Just imagining the look that her mother would give her made Karen shudder.

And when it came to the friends she had here in New York … well, the ensemble was made up of some of the most fun-loving, hard-working people she'd ever known. But she knew there wasn't one of them who she could trust to be discreet about this for more than five minutes.

Karen shuddered once again as she imagined the glee that would zip through the group at the word that Darth Derek had made a pass at the newest Marilyn. And that Marilyn might actually be falling for it.

As for the _real_ adults on the production … at one time, Karen might have seriously thought about confiding in Julia. But with the huge relationship mess that Julia had gotten herself into lately, Karen knew she probably wasn't the best source of romantic wisdom. Tom was wonderful, but Tom hated Derek, so anything he said would be totally prejudiced. Sam was the most sensible and mature person in the ensemble, but he was hooked up with Tom – and Ivy, for that matter. Eileen existed in an entirely different world from Karen, so she wasn't even a consideration.

So Karen was alone – and left to her own thoughts.

Thoughts that ricocheted around her mind all day long. One minute, she was scolding herself for being so stupid and weak. The next minute, she was standing in her closet, trying to decide what to wear over to his place.

Back and forth, up and down, she went like this. Finally, by 10 o'clock that night, the stupidity and weakness – as well as a little black dress – had won out, and here she was at his door.

_Well_, Karen thought as she stood there, nervously smoothing her dress, _I need to talk to somebody about this, and this is the one person who I actually should be doing it with._

But as she raised her hand to knock, Karen realized that she never had felt as unsure about anything in all her life.


	12. Chapter 12

When he opened the door, Derek didn't say anything. He merely stood there and looked at Karen.

He was wearing black pants and socks and a partially untucked white tuxedo shirt that was open at the top buttons, revealing a wisp of dark chest hair. He appeared slightly rumpled with his black bowtie still loosely draped around the back of his neck. Karen could see that her knock had interrupted his unwind after some sort of formal event.

He looked at her for a long moment before wordlessly stepping aside to let her in.

Once she was inside his apartment and he had closed the door behind her, Derek paused. He was turned away from her, still facing the door, his head slightly bowed and his eyes closed.

Then, with an intake of breath and a look of resolve, he turned to her and said, "Karen, I really don't think—"

His words were suddenly smothered by her lips. Instantly, her arms were thrown around his neck and her body pressed completely flush with his as her forceful kiss cut him off midsentence.

There was a brief moment of surprise in which Derek just stood there with Karen clinging to him, his hands held slightly out to the sides. But then, his hands took her into a tight embrace, and he returned her passion so that they were now locked in a heated kiss.

Standing outside his apartment, Karen had never been so unsure in all of her life. But when the door had opened and she saw Derek standing there, her uncertainty flew away. A scared little bird was she no more.

Now, the desperation that they had acted on the afternoon before had returned full force. They were so frenzied in their passion, they blindly stumbled into the wall. But with Karen's back now braced against it, she could gain enough traction to hike a seductively bare knee up his side to his waist.

As they frantically kissed, Derek ran a warm hand along that bare leg, slowly making his way up underneath her dress. He found that her behind was likewise bare, left naked by her lacy thong, and was cool and smooth to his touch.

After thoroughly skimming his hand around her silky curves, he firmly grasped a handful and urged it toward him, effectively pulling her to his groin. She couldn't help but lightly gasp at the hard length she felt pressed against her, clear evidence of his desire for her.

Soon, he had led her, occasionally stumbling in their continued frenzy of kissing and groping, over to the sofa, where he delicately guided her to sit, her back low against the cushions.

Leaning directly over her, he continued hungrily kissing and nipping at her lips and throat. She laid back, her hands running along his shoulders and the back of his neck as his warmth enveloped her. She threaded her fingers into his untamed hair and, clutching it gently, pulled his face toward her chest. His scruff lightly grazed the bare skin around the tops of her breasts as he nuzzled her.

Eventually, he pulled back and gazed at her for a moment. With his eyes locked on hers, he slowly moved down and off the sofa so that he was on his knees before her.

At one time not so long ago, Derek would have felt foolish. Not that he was literally brought to his knees like this, but that he was being emotionally brought to his knees by a woman.

That didn't happen with Derek Wills. It simply didn't. And Derek had always believed that a man who succumbed to such a thing was nothing but a fool.

But now he felt anything but foolish on his knees before this woman.

He gently slid his hands along the outside of Karen's thighs and hooked his fingers on the waist-string of her thong. He pulled it down, and she slightly lifted her hips so he could strip her of it.

At one time not so long ago, Derek would have smirked in self-satisfaction as she moaned and spread her legs for him, as he dove in for yet another conquest, satiating his own desire and pleasuring her for the sake of his own ego.

But now there was no smirk on his face. As Karen moaned and spread her legs for him, there was no self-satisfaction, no feeling of conquest. Derek felt nothing but … what _was_ he feeling?

One thing he obviously felt was elation. He knew this feeling was partly due to the power of regret. It had weighed heavily on him the past 36 hours and suddenly, with one little knock on his door, it had flown away.

He had firmly made up his mind not to force this situation with Karen. A big red flag had unfurled in his mind with the thought of what her confusion could do to the show. Bloody hell, the red flag had even been waved at him by Eileen and Tom.

But _Karen_ had come to _him_. Appeared at his door – in a slinky black number, no less – _willingly_. She had literally thrown herself at him, no questions asked.

There certainly didn't appear to be any confusion involved here.

It had only taken a moment for Derek to decide to go with it. Then, there were no more thoughts – only instinct and feelings propelled him. And those feelings were overwhelming.

Now, as he gently smoothed his fingers along her flawless inner thighs, gently prodding her legs wider, one last thought occurred to him: They were in the very spot where she had promised him not so long ago that it was "not gonna happen."

Well, it was happening. And it was nothing like he had once imagined it would be.

Derek shook all of these thoughts from his mind. Their sentiments were unfamiliar to him and doing nothing but rattling him. And he couldn't be rattled during what he was going to do next.

He willed his mind a complete blank as he leant forward and delicately tasted her. And then he slowly proceeded to skillfully pleasure her into an eruption of ecstasy.

Soon, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to his bedroom.


	13. Chapter 13

As he carried her up the stairs to his bedroom, Derek gazed down into Karen's delicately flushed face. Her eyes were half-lidded as she gazed back at him. She was draped languidly in his arms, obviously satiated by what he had just done to her.

But when he carefully laid her down onto his bed, for the second time this evening Derek was taken completely by surprise. Karen suddenly sprang into action, literally pouncing up on him. In several swift motions, she had pushed him down onto his back and rendered his shirt wide open. It wasn't until she was straddling him below the waist and nuzzling his chest while making quick work of his belt, that Derek returned to his senses.

He reached toward her hands to urge Karen to slow down, but she was having none of it. She pushed his hands away as she undid the belt buckle, and with a pop and a zip, she opened his pants and yanked down his shorts. Now Derek sprang into action – or, at least, part of him did.

His cock had sprung from his pants, and its rock-hard length was now in full view. Karen took in the sight for a moment, distractedly running her tongue lightly across her lips – a sight that in turn thoroughly distracted Derek. As he was staring at her pink tongue wetting her full, luscious lips, in a sudden movement, Karen ducked down and took his length into her soft, hot mouth.

Derek couldn't help but moan. The low, deep growl had escaped his throat before he even realized it, and even now he wasn't truly aware of it. With eyes closed and head thrown back, he reached down and intertwined his fingers in Karen's lustrous hair. His hands flexed in rhythm with her sensual work, clutching when she took him deeply and clutching even harder when she teased his tip with her tongue.

Suddenly, he was no longer in her mouth, and Derek opened his eyes to a stunning vision. Karen had thrown off her dress and was now completely nude above him. As she gazed down at him, he stared at her creamy white breasts, their pert pink nipples. Her body was a sight to behold, and even more lovely than Derek had imagined. And you can believe that he had exercised his imagination many times in this regard.

Responding to her prodding look, he snapped out of his trance and reached into his bedside drawer. As soon as he had a condom in hand, she snatched it from him, and with a quick tear and roll, it was out of its package and on him.

Again, Karen was swift. She straddled Derek and immediately sank down, taking him completely and deeply inside her. This time, it was a slight gasping exclamation that escaped his lips instead of a moan.

Derek hadn't yet recovered from the initial rapture of her tight velvety warmth before she began a slow, sensual grind. He lay beneath her, his eyes half-lidded and unfocused, his lips parted and his breathing erratic.

While she worked him, Karen held his gaze, a sultry glint in her eye. As they stared at each other, Derek thought he saw a slight smirk form on her lips. After a long moment she murmured, "I thought you said I'm afraid of anything below the neck."

He merely gave her a slight smirk in return, perfectly content that she was making fun of him. Maybe even teaching him a lesson. He reveled in the fact that he was simply lying back and taking it. In every sense of the phrase.

Then Karen leaned down and placed several hot open-mouthed kisses along his neck, her tight nipples trailing along his chest as she went.

Now he was moaning again, with his eyes closed and head thrown back, his hands clasped on either side of her hips. He had completely surrendered to her slow, sensual ministrations, but soon he was no longer satisfied with this arrangement. It was time for him to make some adjustments. A control freak to the core, Derek Wills' first item of business was his nearly fully-clothed status.

With a tighter grip on Karen's hips and a sudden movement, he rolled her over onto her back. Without withdrawing from her, he smoothly shrugged off his shirt and wriggled out of his pants and socks. As soon as he was completely naked, he wrapped his arms around her upper back and drew her tightly against his body. Then he began to thrust.

Now it was her turn to moan. With each fervent thrust that Derek delivered, Karen was gasping and moaning, clutching at him and throwing her head back in pleasure. Her hips met his stroke for stroke as they moved together, and soon she was moaning in his mouth as he ducked down and locked her lips into a deep kiss.

He loved the pressure of her strong dancer's legs tightly wrapped around his waist; the thinly electrifying trails her fingernails blazed across his back; the tingling sensation he felt when her fingers threaded through his hair. She loved his attentiveness – the unspoken awareness that every movement he made was for her pleasure. She loved the gentle care he took not to scratch her too roughly with his scruff. She loved the warmth, the strength, the scent of him holding her so close. And as his teeth lightly grazed her throat, she actually whimpered.

Derek soon released Karen from his tight embrace, and he raised himself up over her on his forearms. He smothered her moans once again in deep kisses as he now plunged into her from a more pronounced angle.

With their every motion, a faint but intense glow was beginning to course through their bodies. Suddenly, with eyes clenched shut and a hitching gasp, Karen arched her back off the bed and began bucking her hips up against him. Taking this as his cue, Derek allowed himself his own release, and waves of exquisite ecstasy started to pour through him. With a loud cry, he drove three final hard, long thrusts into her and then literally collapsed, careful not to put too much weight on Karen beneath him.

They lay there like that for a long while – breathing hard and spent in a haze of after-pleasure. Then, Derek delicately disengaged himself and rolled over to lie beside Karen. They gazed at one another as their breathing slowed.

Soon, slight, languid grins stole across their faces.


	14. Chapter 14

He awoke and was surprised to find that he didn't feel the slightest bit foolish.

Here he was, lying beside a girl from _Iowa_, of all places, who a mere few months ago hadn't even known what tech was. She still blushed, still spoke guilelessly, still found joy in the littlest of things. In short, she was still a delicate participant in the world – would probably always be to some extent or other – and he was actually taking her seriously.

And there was no crushing hangover as evidence of the excuse for his lapse in judgment. But as he lay there, with flashes of what happened last night playing in his mind, he realized that he didn't actually believe there had been any lapse in judgment.

She had surprised him twice last night … no, more than that. And Derek was rarely surprised by anything or anyone. Her unpredictability – that delicious quality that he had savored in her at the very beginning – had returned last night. And what an exhilarating return it had been.…

As the first to wake, he was able to gaze – stare, really, as he was so often wont to do – across the pillows at Karen without feeling the least bit self-conscious. In the dim morning light, he could just make out her gorgeous features, the steady rise and fall of her luscious curves in peaceful sleep.

It was rather unsettling to find such a creature in his bed. And it was unsettling for him to be here like this, completely aware and yet contented.

_What is this? _He pondered as he lay there.

With Ivy, it had been quite straightforward. A couple of hard-edged professionals finding a bit of comfort and recreation with each other. And with Rebecca – and most of the other women he'd ever shagged – it had been even more straightforward. They had innately understood where he was coming from, and there had been no fuss, no muss.

But _this_. It wasn't straightforward in the least – or was it? Straightforward, but in a different direction?

Derek didn't know. But he was strangely OK with that for now.

* * *

She awoke and was surprised to find that she felt no regrets.

Here she was, lying beside a man who just a few months ago had nothing but terrified and dismayed her. She had never before felt the kind of panic that he had triggered that night, when he had shown his fangs and cornered her like prey, teary eyed and trembling in his bathroom. She had never been so pushed beyond her limits.

Who would have thought that she'd ever be capable of willingly – _enthusiastically_ – giving herself to this man like she had last night? When he opened that door last night … well, she was overcome by some kind of primal urge. Something deep inside of her just took over, something she now realized had been there for a long time, desperately straining to break free. Well, it broke free, all right.

Karen slightly blushed as she recalled how she had been so shockingly wild with abandon.

And he had been surprisingly gentle.

_What is this?_ She pondered as she lay there, gazing back at him across the pillows.

She was confused, of course. That old feeling seemed to be her constant companion. But the confusion no longer scared her so much. Instead, it piqued her wary curiosity, led her to marvels she had never dreamed existed. And this – whatever _this_ was – was one of those marvels.

So she mildly settled into her confusion, outwardly relaxing more deeply in the pillows and giving him a smile. She would let herself just go with the flow, assuming that her confusion would eventually pass. And what would be left in its wake?

Karen didn't know. But she was strangely OK with that for now.

What was this, and where was it going? All they knew was that here they were. And it was simply … inexplicable.

THE END


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